Printer&#39;s gauge



Sept- 23, 1 c. J. WlNKVlST PRINTERS GAUGE Filed Feb. 25, 1949 INVENTOR.

i atented Sept. 23,

UNITED STATES R KTENT OFFICE ehimee' GAUGE y can Winkvist, Mattapan,:-Mass".- a e m'ieetiefirehteeiyzs, 1949; see-elm; 7832?.

1 This mvehtie'fi reiates" tidbri'nteis 'agee f" the type used ir'rconrietiorf withfplatri pr ming presses" for positioning cp'rlectly the individual sheets as they are fed to'the' platento'feceive the imprint; I q u I I 11 the operation of a} printing press ofthi's typ'e it'i'smqfnmbn' practice to' employ a so-ca11ed"tym-' pan sheet which is-sebured to'the platen arid-t6 which said gages '1 sheet positioning members are cla'mpedi V t If'the' material being" printed the fdrmof cards' 01- heavy material like" caidboard, it sa e:

ment of such cards or cardbdard'intb"piintihg'pw clamped to th tympan sheet in proper positiq'n'it williiijain'tainsueh po's'itibrf during any-run of the Another object is to' m-e vme a Liiinter$ gal'ge which can be firmly clamped" to' a tympa'risheet with lthefsheet pb'sitibning head of' tlie'ga'ge with inaver y short distance; dh-theb'idei' 'of- A fr'din' the -edge of' the tym en sheet thereby'ihc'iasing" the range of work that can be done an any given- Fig'. 'Z-i'Sa'SiQdeViW theiof sh'owing'the elajn'rip ing'i nemberclose'd', I Fig. 3 -i's"a side'view showing the clamping meet: pen. v 1 1. Fig 4% is aii enlarged sectional view nth'e' line 4-4; Fig. 1 showing the gage cla ped-teem: pan sheet. v 4 e Fig.5 is-a'section o themes-5 Fig. 1*shbv'wi- 111;; the gage clampedfto'atympan'sheet; I w 6 i lustrates the platen-of a' h'rmtmgpre' having gages-clamp ed'-to"the*tympaii sheet theie' of'fp'r preiie'rly'p'bsition-in'ga s'he'etftbbepiirite'd: Fig; Tis aperspective view (if-theage? I, 3 Figiii isan emerged s'eetional view 011 the'lin'e Fig. 915 afragmentarysetiona1 Viewon the enlarged scale" illu'stfating the mannef in whih' the gage head isclaimped tp the tynipan'sheeti Referring firsttei is l indicates t platenofaiprinting press to which i-S-seurd the 'lisiial tympan sheet- 2; 3- indieate' a card or shejetkiri' whieh'theim fiht isfto'be d'e; arid 4 match 5 ga'tg' l'iibiidyirig my invfitidfifiii whih th shfi 3is preperiypesitiened. I e

My improved ga e mehideein' its eqnstrli'tidii a-b'a'se platehiemlo'e1"- Wanda clafii'ping'menibeffi the two meinh'er s preferably beingmadeYfiiini si 'gie ieee df eheet metel which'isfbentintos staiiti'alllj U mimetic-n asshfiwn, thereby tbp vide space 1' between th'in' tie-"receive dheede of the tym-fiafisheeW-I l The dev'ice' a-lg o-i includes* a' claih'p-aetiit'tiii member a-"by' which clamping pressure ten-beep: plied td thei-elamping mexnlder' 6% Theqlaifip c tiiaiting member 8 is p ef erably' madefio'xn'sheeti material andbhe end e' there'o f is'bent at an angle tdpr'ovide a' presser feet} The clamp-actuating? v member being provided with'trimhiofis" I l which operate in dpenirig's l2 'fornie'd in'sai'd ears.

I nevea fiom' p ressure', but when thecla firmnession aitympah' sheet wiihethei the lattfis a relatively thin sheet'or ia relatively thick shetl afterset'forth.

Referrihganbwio'ihe drawings; wherein I haif" Fiat-=1 is tb pplan-' view of e hee embodyingthe invention? The damp-actuating member is $6 'criS'tititW th 'atwhen it is swung'into its o'pen positio'n' 'shb'wn m-Figse-s and 7, the damping. memb r si'ere etin'g member is thrbwn intbit shfiefati've clampin positionsho'wn in ligs'; 2'and' 3; tHe"p fs'1" feet portion a ther of;presses de'wriwermy the" clampingmerhber' 6".

e gage is so made that the resi'lieiiei ef tiie material etthe'big t ortion l3 t mjreiee the clamplng member from the base niemtet wheti the clam'b actuating niembef is'swiing iiitbit in operative position a-ssh'owh'in Fig'l 3 aii cf'if The clamping member 8 is bent upwardly at its outer or free end as shown at I4 and then is bent downwardly as indicated at I5, said downwardly bent portion I5 constituting a gage head or work-positioning portion. The portions I4 and I5 of the clamping member thereby hav an inverted U-shaped form.

The free end I6 of the base element is provided with a. biting edge I! and the lower edge face of the gage head I5 also present a companion biting edge I8, said biting edges being parallel to each other and situated substantially in the same vertical plane. The biting edge I8 on the gage head is constituted by the corner where the bottom edge face I9 of the gage head meets the inner vertical face thereof and the gage head is so formed that this edge face I9 of the gage head is situated slightly below the under face 2| of the body of the clamping member.

Moreover the edge face I9 of the gage head I5 overhangs the end face I6 .of the base member as clearly seen in Fig. 4, so that when the tympan sheet 2 is placed between the base plate and the clamping member, said edge face is directly over the portion 22 of the tympan sheet that is located immediately beyond the end of the base plate and which is therefore unsupported.

When the tympan sheet has thus been placed between the clamping member and the base element and the clamp-actuator 8 is operated to apply a clamping pressure to the clamping memher, the end face I9 of the gage head, which may be referred to as a tympan sheet engaging face, will be pressed against the upper face of the unsupported portion 22 of the tympan sheet and said portion will be displaced downwardly just beyond the end face I6 of the base element 5. During this operation the biting edge I8 of the clamping member and the biting edge I! of the base plate are pressed into the top and bottom faces of the tympan sheet and a forwardly facing shoulder 23 is formed on the top face of the tympan sheet immediately in the rear of the gage head I5, and a rearwardly facing shoulder 24 is formed in the bottom face of the tympan heet immediately in front of the end edge I6 of the base element as shown in Figs. 4 and 9. Such downward displacement of the portion 22 of the tympan sheet is a bodily downward movement in a horizontal plane (see Fig. 9) as distinguished from'a bending of the tympan sheet around the edge of the base plate. Moreover, the sinking of the biting edge I8 into the top face of the tympan sheet, as well as the sinking of the biting edge I! of the base plate into the bottom face of the tympan sheet, is in the nature of a shearing action and does not involve bending the tympan sheet around the under edge of the base.

The gage is so constructed that when clamping pressure is applied to the clamping member as shown in Fig. 4, the under face 2| of the clamping member will be clamped firmly against the top face of the tympan sheet.

The presence of the shoulders 23 and 24 which are thus formed in the tympan sheet, serve to hold the gage firmly in its clamped position and the shoulder 23 serves to prevent the gage from being displaced backwardly by any pressure which may be applied to the gage head I5 when heavy material such as cardboard is fed into position for printing.

My improved gage is provided with means which limit the depth to which the biting edges can be sunk into the top and bottom surfaces of the tympan sheet when the gage is clamped thereto. For this purpose the base portion 5 is provided with a forwardly extending tongue 26 situated centrally of the biting edge II thereby dividing said edge into two sections, and the edge face I9 of the gage head I5 is provided with a shallow notch 26 which registers with the tongue 25, said notch having a depth less than half the thickness of the tympan sheet. Said notch 26 thus divides the edge face I9 of the gage head into two sections. and also similarly divides the biting edge I8 of the gage head into two sections.

When the gage is clamped to a tympan sheet 2, the biting edge I8 of each section of the tympan sheet engaging face I9 of the gage head will be sunk into the top face of the tympan sheet while the portion of the tympan sheet which rests on the tongue 25 will be clamped between said tongue and the bottom of the notch 26. The engagement of the bottom of the notch 26 with the portion of the tympan sheet resting on the tongue 25 limits the downward displacing movement of the tympan sheet engaging surface I 9, and since said notch has a depth less than half the thickness of the tympan sheet, the shoulders 23 and 24 will also each have a depth less than half the thickness of the tympan sheet. The above operations result in the formation of two indentations in the top face of the tympan sheet and two shoulders 23, one formed by each section of the end edge face I9. The end walls 28 of the notch 26 also cooperate with the tongue 25 to form shoulders 3| in the top surface of the tympan sheet, at the inner ends of shoulders 23 made by said biting edge sections I8.

The base 5 is also provided at each side with a wing portion 29, said wings supporting the tympan sheet at each side of the gage head during the clamping operation and cooperating with the end faces 21 of the gage head to form shoulders 30 in the tympan sheet at the outside ends of the shoulders 23 made by said biting edge sections I8.

When the gage is clamped to the tympan sheet, it is securely held in position to a certain extent by the clamping of the tympan sheet between the bottom face 2| of the clamping member and the base, but to a much greater extent :by the shoulders 23, 24, 30 and 3| formed as above described.

The forwardly facing shoulders 23 constitute abutments which cooperate with the gage head I5 to prevent the gage from being displaced backwardly, and the rearwardly facing shoulders 24 cooperate with the end face I6 of the base to prevent the gage from being displaced in a for wardly direction. The shoulders 30 and 3I cooperate with the gage head to prevent any sidewise movement of the gage.

In fact, a gage embodying my invention will, when clamped to the tympan sheet, have such a firm grip thereon that if a pulling force is applied to the gage, the tympan sheet will be torn before any slippage of the gage on the tympan sheet occurs.

. My improved gage also has the advantage that it will be securely held in position even if it is clamped to the tympan sheet with the gage head within of the edge thereof. As stated above, the principal clamping effect of the gage on the tympan sheet is produced by the manner in which the biting edges I8 and I! bite into the top and bottom surfaces of the-tympan sheet thereby to form the shoulders 23 and 24, and this clamping effect will be produced even though the edge of the tympan sheet extends only aboutrd'or so inside of the vertical plane of the biting edges.

Another advantage of my improved gage relates to the ease with which the gage can be clamped to a tympan sheet. The wings 29 act as guides to assist in entering the edge of the tympan sheet between the gage head l5 and the base, and after the tympan sheet has been thus entered between these parts, the printer can readily adjust the gage into its correct position with one hand, and while holding the ease in this position, he can press the clamp-actuating member 8 into its operative position with one of his fingers and without loosening his hold on the gage. This i a decided advantage over those gages which require the use of both hands to clamp them in position.

Another advantageous feature of the gage is that it has a relatively small vertical dimension so that the gage, when in use, will not interfere with type which are set to print close to the edge of the sheet 3.

The gage herein shown is provided with a guard member 32 which extends through openings 33 formed in the walls 14 and I5 of the gage head and which serves to prevent the edge of the sheet 3, when fed into position against the gage, from curling up suificiently to slide up over the top of the gage head.

This guard member 32 may be a thin strip of metal and the rear end 34 thereof is shown as extending through a notch 35 formed in the presser foot portion 9. This guard member can be easily removed if its presence is not necessary, as for instance, when the sheets to be printed are in the form of cards or cardboard or other heavy material. It can be easily inserted into position, however, when its use is desirable to prevent the edge of the sheet 3 from curling up.

My improved gage has a further advantage that its hold on the tympan sheet will be just as effective on a thin sheet as on a thick sheet because regardless of the thickness of the tympan sheet, the operation of clamping the gage to the sheet produces the forwardly facing shoulder 23 and. the rearwardly facing shoulder 24 which are important factors in securely anchoring the gage to the tympan sheet.

I claim:

1. A printer's gage comprising a base plate having a tympan sheet supporting surface terminating at its front end in a biting edge, a clamping member presenting a vertically extending work-positioning portion having at its lower end a tympan sheet engaging surface which is located immediately beyond the biting edge of the base plate, and also having a vertical inner wall which forms with the tympan sheet engaging surface a companion biting edge parallel to, above and in the same vertical plane as the biting edge of the base plate, means to apply a clamping pressure to the clamping member to press the tympan sheet engaging surface thereof against that unsupported portion of a tympan sheet resting on the base plate which lies immediately beyond the biting edge thereof, and

to displace said unsupported portion downwardly and to sink the bitting edge of the clamping member into the top surface of the tympan sheet, thereby forming therein a forwardly facing shoulder,. and also to sink the biting edge of the base plate into the bottom face of said tympan sheet, thereby to form therein a rearwardly facing shoulder which is in the same vertical .plane as said forwardly facing shoulder, and

a Number means to limit the tympan sheet displacing movement of the tympan sheet engaging surface to less than half of the thickness of the tympan sheet.

2. A printer's gage comprising a base plate having a tympan sheet supporting surface terminating at its front end in a biting edge, a clamping member presenting a vertically extending Work-positioning portion having at its lower end a tympan sheet engaging surface which is located immediately beyond the biting edge of the base plate, and also having a vertical inner wall which forms with the tympan sheet engaging surface a companion biting edge parallel to, above and in the same vertical plane as the biting edge of the base plate, means to apply a clamping pressure to the clamping member to press the tympan sheet engaging surface thereof against that unsupported portion of a tympan sheet resting on the base plate which lies immediately beyond the biting edge thereof, and to displace said unsupported portion downwardly and to sink the bitting edge of the clamping member into the top surface of the tympan sheet, thereby forming therein a forwardly facing shoulder, and also to sink the biting edge of the base plate into the bottom face of said tympan sheet, thereby to form therein a rearwardly facing shoulder which is in the same vertical plane as said forwardly facing shoulder, said base plate having a tongue projecting forwardly from its biting edge centrally thereof, which tongue divides the biting edge into two sections, and said tympan sheet engaging surface of the clamping member having a shallow notch registering with the tongue and which cooperates therewith to limit the downward displacing movement'of said tympan sheet engaging surface.

CARL J. WINKVIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Megill Dec. 19, 1893 Megill Apr. 28, 1908 Strait Jan. 19, 1909 Washburn Oct. 5, 1920 Welsh Jan. 17, 1922 Strait Feb. 21, 1922 Strait Oct. 14, 1930 Angel May 24, 1932 

